A Rower Named Desire

This summer, senior Harvard heavyweight rower Josh Hicks helped bring home a silver medal for his native Australia as a member of the U-23 national team. Little did he know that his path to the national team would begin as a collegiate rower.

Now a senior on the Crimson squad, Hicks has been instrumental to the program’s success from the start.

“He’s one of those guys who, since the very beginning of freshman year, has always been at the top of the squad physically,” says fellow senior rower Jason Phillips. “He jumped right in and started moving towards the top, and he’s been in the best boats ever since.”

Former teammate Matt Edstein ’12, who is now involved with the Australian national team, succinctly summed up the reason for Hicks’ ascent.

“When Josh first joined the varsity squad in his sophomore year, we coined the nickname ‘Desire’ for him,” Edstein wrote in an email because he could not be reached by phone. “It basically sums up how he approaches training and racing: with a lot of heart and tenacity.”

Hicks’ “desire” and rowing skill have led him from his home in Perth, Australia to the banks of the Charles River and to Trakai, Lithuania, for the 2012 U-23 World Championships.

His high school cross country and rowing coach, Phil Jurjevich, raves about the senior’s incredible work ethic and strength, especially given his relatively small stature for a rower.

“Josh doesn’t lose intensity,” Jurjevich notes. “He’s very strong for his height and just has a ridiculous tank and engine. He’s always had the ability to push himself 10 out of 10 where other rowers might be at, say, a six out of 10.”

Harvard heavyweight coach Harry Parker, celebrating his 51st year as head coach of the Crimson, says Hicks sets an excellent example for his teammates.

“His motivation is the aspect of his rowing that impresses the other guys on the team the most,” Parker says. “They recognize how motivated he is, how hard he trains, and how much effort he puts into his rowing.”

Although he did not start until he was 14, Hicks quickly threw himself into rowing.

“I started rowing basically because my school was next to the river,” Hicks says. “Everyone else played basketball and every school had a basketball ring, but my dad pointed out that not every school gave you the opportunity to go splash around in the river, so I started rowing.”

Hicks was also a champion cross country runner at the time. He went undefeated in high school in open meets and set the conference record in the 1,500-meter race his senior year.

Jurjevich recalls a particularly telling episode detailing the young runner’s tireless nature.

“Before a meet, four runners went into the city several kilometers away to get food,” Jurjevich recounts. “Three of them made it, but Josh was finishing his food and the bus took off just as he approached. He ran the whole way back, chasing the bus as the boys watched him out the back window.”

“Somehow, he made it to the meet at the same time as the bus,” Jurjevich laughs.

Hicks says he sees a parallel between cross country and rowing.

“With both cross country and rowing, you can see yourself tangibly improving, and it’s wonderful,” Hicks says. “You can see yourself getting faster over time, and that gives you a sense of self-worth, to see your individual improvements rewarded.”

According to teammate and fellow senior James O’Connor, Hicks strikes a good balance between fun and focus.

“Outside the boathouse, he’s a real character,” O’Connor says. “He’s got his motorbike and he loves to ride it, but when he’s at the boathouse, he always brings his ‘A’ game.”

Hicks says that O’Connor and Phillips—who are from New Zealand and London, respectively—are part of a wave of foreign oarsmen who have come to Harvard and other American universities to row.

“Part of the reason I came to Harvard is that there’s the concept of the student-athlete that doesn’t really exist in Australia,” Hicks says. “The programs there aren’t affiliated with the university. Plus, it’s not like we’re getting a degree and mucking around on the river every so often—training at Harvard is twice a day. It’s the best combination of athletics and academics.”

To this end, Rowing Australia has recognized that many Australians come to the United States to row at the collegiate level and has set up a system to retain American-based rowers within the Australian system.

“For two summers now, [Rowing Australia has] set up a U.S.-based boat that Australians at American universities can try out for,” says Crimson associate head coach Bill Manning. “The first year, it was a slow boat, but this past summer, they were able to recruit the best Australians for the boat, including Josh.”

Hicks is thankful that the Australian federation makes it so easy for U.S.-based athletes like him to compete.

“We’re so grateful, because they really didn’t have to. We’re just a bunch of Aussies who [go] off to America and, to a certain extent, leave them high and dry,” Hicks says. “I’m almost apologetic because I can understand if Australian athletes at home are upset. At the same time though, we’ve had really good results in that boat and all of the guys in the boat had represented Australia before and have had plenty of experience.”

Last June, Hicks went to Princeton to try out for the U-23 team in hopes of making it to the U-23 World Championships in Lithuania.

“We went down to Princeton and tried out in pairs, did some racing, and they added up whoever had the lowest times after several races,” Hicks says. “The four with the lowest time made the boat.”

Hicks made the team and immediately commenced training.

“I spent three weeks training intensively there with coach Tom Laurich, and it was a lot of fun,” Hicks says.

Despite having a compressed time frame compared to the other Australian boats, which were put together in April, Hicks and his boat were able to earn a silver for Australia at the championships in July.

Hicks valued both the experience of rowing for the national team and the medal he brought home with him.

“The Aussie team was great—I just got to hang out with a bunch of other Aussies who love the sport that I love,” Hicks says. “Some people get choked up about representing their country—and don’t get me wrong, it is an honor and privilege and I’m humbled to represent Australia—but what it really boils down to is out-rowing the competition.”

Mike DiSanto ’12, a former teammate now with the American squad, says Hicks is prepared for the next level of competition—the Australian national team.

“To make that jump, you have to commit yourself every day, and Josh will be able to do that,” DiSanto says. “At the same time, you have to make sure you’re working well in the system, but Josh is an extremely likeable guy, so he’ll be fine.”

“I’m just excited to see the [Australian] team get better, but this is a U-23 rower speaking,” Hicks adds. “If I’m lucky enough to not even make the team, but just push the guys who are on the team to be better—then that’ll be fantastic for me, and my rowing goals will have been achieved.”